Colorado has been the victim of three nationally significant mass shootings since the late 1990s: Columbine, Aurora Theater and Boulder King Soopers. David Siders, a senior writer for Politico, uses Colorado as a model for the challenges and opportunities for gun control after a mass shooting. He points out that gun control is popular with the public, the NRA is in disarray and Democrats control the presidency and Congress. This should be the year for passage of at least universal background checks.
But, gun control has been a top Democratic agenda item at least since 2012 (Sandy Hook) and has not passed Congress. Of course, the current Democratic majority is exceptionally slim, making Democrats’ success tenuous since there is still little Republican support identified. Will 2021 be different?
Siders quoted me saying:
“But even if legislation ultimately fails in Washington, holding a vote on a major gun reform bill could be politically significant ahead of the midterm elections next year. For Democrats, said Floyd Ciruli, a Denver-based pollster, such legislation ‘would be, at least to some extent, to get a vote on it and be able to use it in suburban districts’ in Colorado and across the country.”
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| Gun safety advocates rally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court | Drew Angerer/Getty Images |
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